If you want to start a group, or work on this yourself, I offer 12 workshop classes for you to work your way through. I’ll post them all in the next few days. This can be a really fun, social, productive way to bring sisters together, or at the very least, you will create an interesting record of your life for those you love. The Intro of how this all got started can be found here.

Getting Started–Write and Keep Writing

Sadly, many life histories have been painstakingly gathered only to never be read, because they are merely journal entries, or so full of detail that it’s a ponderous undertaking to read through the “boring” information. No one has to write a lot to have an impact. A simple, faith-promoting story speaks volumes and is inspiring to all who read it.

By writing your history, in the various forms of literature, your testimony, story, or thoughts can be fun for you to write as well as touch someone’s heart. Stories are what history is made of. Focus on the stories of your life.

Some of us have a natural ability to share our thoughts. Others struggle and try very hard to never get around to it. Here are some pointers to get over that little mountain of doubt.

• When you are trying to tell a story, keep in mind the qualities of good writing –economy, simplicity, and clarity.
• When starting your history you don’t have to start at the beginning.
• Think of your personal history as a series of letters to a friend. In your letters tell your best stories.
• When you write, you play both the role of teller, and of reader. You are telling stories that you love and that your reader wants to hear, remember, and retell to others. It isn’t a chore, but a delight!
• Think in fives. Write five lines, five memories, or five pages. Just write in fives.
• With writing, persistence is more important than talent. Indeed, only writing will lead to improved writing. A small quantity persistently added to itself will become a large sum.
• Rush Writing may help you get started. Rush writing is simply writing down your first thoughts. Set a timer for the amount of time you decide to rush write; five minutes is a good average. (There’s that number five, again.)
• Ignore mistakes in spelling or grammar. You are just creating a ‘first draft.’ You can add details, fill out the story, sort out the mistakes another day. Today, just forge ahead and get something written on paper/computer.
• Remember, good writing is rewriting.
• Carry a notebook around with you. Write down what you see, what you are doing, what you remember or imagine. A lot of this won’t go into your history, but it will make you more comfortable writing about your thoughts.

Challenge:

Find a past journal entry (or recall a memory) and rewrite it into a complete story. Use the previous tips until you’re happy with your story. Invite some friends to hear what you’ve written. Be brave and ask for their opinion.

Go on to Lesson 2